Report 370
Report #370 Skillset: Totems Skill: New Org: Serenguard Status: Rejected May 2010 Furies' Decision: We do not find this to be necessary. Problem: Right now, the disparity between influencers (especially in village revolts) is made very sharp by the presence of the Laetitia ritual. Having a chanted ritual on a target that restores ego allows for one person, even a shattered person, to constantly chant Laetitia at a target that is either debating or influencing a denizen. This problem is increased for the forests now that there are two new cities that get access to Laetitia, making it all the more likely that forest influencers will go up against it. The counterskills that the forests have access to (Light and Penumbra) just don't compare, as Penumbra costs 5 power and Light's effect is minimal, and both take a coven to use. Solution #1: Create a new skill in Totems (we were thinking Lion) with the ability to, for the purposes of example ROAR to inspire them and fill them with self-confidence, thus restoring their ego. Slightly weaker than Laetitia, with the same usage restrictions, given that more guilds per forest have access to Totems than the guilds in the cities do. (Wiccans, druids, and warriors versus guardians and warriors.) Solution #2: As above, but as strong as Laetitia to balance out the number of cities with Laetitia versus the number of communes with Lion. It would be six guilds with access to Lion and currently six guilds with access to Laetitia at the writing of this report, although that will grow to at least eight. Solution #3: Make a person shattered in a debate not be able to chant laetitia. First, if laetitia is a problem, the commune could theoretically shatter the chanters to hinder it, and second of all, that way people that were shattered would be as useful as shattered communemembers would be, to even things out. Player Comments: ---on 4/19 @ 15:34 writes: The number of guilds with access to it are not that important because only one or in some circumstances two people using laetitia can have any effect (and the effectiveness of the 2nd person is majorly reduced.) So if there's a reason to make it weaker, that isn't it. ---on 4/19 @ 16:02 writes: We've talked about some other balancing factors like high-charisma races in the forests, and a few ego boosts here and there. Talan suggested a different fix that I feel is acceptable, I'll post it as solution 3. ---on 4/29 @ 16:17 writes: Oh, and to clarify, since I've been asked a few times, the points regarding the number of guilds that have access to the skills affects the odds of having somebody to chant laetitia based on proportions to the total population and sheer number of guilds with the skill, not the number of people you can have chanting at once. Basically what I mean is that with six (to be eight) guilds with laetitia, you have a high chance of being allied to an organization that A) has access to the skill and B) will have somebody present who can. ---on 5/9 @ 07:58 writes: I wouldn't mind seeing more Great Spirits found in the histories being incorporated into the Totems skillset. ---on 5/14 @ 15:41 writes: Communes already receive passive ego from sun totem. Perhaps instead of adding a new skill, sun could be changed from passive to active ego healing. ---on 5/17 @ 01:14 writes: I think I would be okay with solution 3 if communes couldn't perform covens for Penumbra and Light while shattered too. ---on 5/18 @ 06:38 writes: This might be a wild idea, but why not make a laetitia dingbat artie? The same has already been done for a few skills in totems, and I see doing similar for rituals as a better alternative than just directly handing totems a skill from rituals.